Death gods and Detectives
by Elandil
Summary: Surely after saving Rukia the substitute team would have at least a small chance of a normal life? Not likely. Now Ichigo and his squad must face their most dangerous mission of all, University in the mortal world... no, wait, its Kira. How will Ichigo cope when he joins the investigation team, but as a suspect? Challenge response for: ilov2laflol


**Okay, this is the first of these things I have ever done, so be gentle please? Anyway, this is a response to the challenge by ****ilove2laflol ****which was:**

_**There have been weird deaths in the Kanto region of Japan and the Substitute Shinigami group has been deployed by the Soul Society in order to figure out the reason why people are dying. Meanwhile L has found out the existence of Shinigami (the death note ones) and is trying to find out who Kira really is. The substitute group is trying to locate the weird reiatsu they have been feeling around the area.**_

**So here is my response, I hope you enjoy it **

**XxXxXxXxXx Ella**

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Allowing himself to slump back into the soft cushions of his seat, Ichigo studied the young man before him, processing what he had just heard. It wasn't as though the meaning wasn't clear, it was just that, well, it was so absurd that it was refusing to go in.

"So…" He started out, his voice thick with disbelief and his expression frozen from shock. "What you're saying is… you are L and you suspect me of being Kira?"

As he finished off the question, the young shinigami couldn't help but shake is head at the sheer improbability of that last statement. After all, why would he want to go around killing all the bad guys in the world? Sure, it may seem appealing at first, cleaning up the world of all its scum, but not when you had to deal with the after math. It seemed that, in the end, people never really change, not even death helps with that aspect, so, as the majority of those killed recently were murderers and the like, there had been a dramatic increase in the number of Hollows around recently. It was running Ichigo and his team ragged for the last few weeks since they had been sent to Kanto. Yeah, why would he _ever _want to be Kira?

Then there was the student from his class who was claiming to be the world renowned detective L, the one who had challenged Kira on national T.V and whose identity was unknown. Still, even if Ryuga _was _L, why would he be openly telling Ichigo this if he thought him to be Kira, his sworn enemy? From what he had heard from the other students in his class, and from what Uryuu had found out, this rather shabby guy was actually one of the two smartest kids in the year, and this plan seemed really reckless for someone of such a high level of intelligence, it just didn't make sense.

The sunken eyes of Ryuga never left Ichigo's face as he nodded slowly, almost thoughtfully, in response to the question, snapping the shinigami back into reality where he had to fight the sudden urge to laugh, feeling that this whole situation must have been a joke that Renji or someone had set up, it was just far to surreal to be true. After all, he had only been in the area for about 3 weeks max, before that, he had been living quite happily in Karakura town, not really aware of the whole disaster going on to be honest.

"Look… I believe you, I really, do, but why the hell would _I _be Kira?"

Disbelief coloured his words, and 'L' narrowed his eyes slightly, biting on his thumb nail as he rocked backwards and forwards in that strange, semi foetal position he always sat in.

"Well Kurosaki-kun… you do have that strange habit of running off at random moments and returning with a weird look in your eye, like you've done something you really didn't want to do…"

Ryuga let his words trail off there as he took another bite out of his strawberry cheesecake he had ordered the second they had entered the little café just outside the gates of To-Oh university. For someone claiming to be a world famous detective, he really did have a sweet tooth. Ichigo had noticed him at lunch times, on the rare days that he actually showed up, and all he ever bought to eat were sweets and other forms of sugary treats. Still, it looked like he was not the only one noticing things.

The fact that someone had noticed his odd behaviour was annoying, though not really surprising, after all, the sudden increase in hollow activity had Ichigo running in and out of the campus several times a day, someone was bound to notice sooner or later, but still, the comment about doing something you didn't want to do stung. It was also true.

Since leaving Soul Society, the substitute team had been itching to get involved with the whole case of tracking Aizen, but they had been sent to investigate the cause of the abnormally large number of deaths in the human world instead. It was incredibly vexing for all of them, not the least because there was this annoying reiatsu that kept popping up everywhere that just didn't feel _right_.

Realising that he needed to respond to the statement so as to appear like a normal person, if that word even applied to him any more, Ichigo suppressed a shudder and blurted out the first, believable, thing that came to mind. Rubbing his temples at the sheer realisation that this comment could have been true.

"Look Hideki-kun, I've told you before. My dad thinks its funny to phone me up at random times in the day and claim that there is an emergency, like the house is on fire, or one of my little sisters was hit by a car, that sort of thing. It's nothing suspicious, just my dad being a prat!"

_Yes, and my job taking over every damned minute of my life _he thought, but thankfully, his mouth was firmly closed by then, there was no reason to incite probing questions into his work life after all.

For a minute, the other student focused intently on devouring the rest of his cake and ordering another slice from the waitress who had come to refill their drinks. This went on so long that Ichigo began to suspect that his entire presence had been forgotten, and perhaps he should just leave there and then, but, just as he was about to stand, those haunted eyes snapped back to his, trapping him in place.

"So you say Kurosaki-kun, but, if that is the case, why do you rush off every time he calls? Surely a normal person would have learned not to trust everything such a man tells them by now? Oh, and, for the record, the probability of you being Kira will change depending on your answer."

Ichigo felt like slamming his head into the table in front of them. This conversation really wasn't going anywhere fast, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves, the humour long worn thin. Deciding that it was probably better to just tell this guy the truth for now, he steeled himself to give a mini lecture on his history.

"I doubt you'd get it Hideki-kun, you don't have any siblings, but after my mother passed away, its actually all too easy to imagine them getting into some horrible accident and following her. That's why I get so nervous when he tells me these thi-"

He was cut off by an incessant beeping coming from his trouser pocket and, frowning, he reached in to pull out the Hollow detector he had been given before leaving soul society. According to the screen, there was one about two blocks from where he was sitting… and there was no one else near by to deal with it. Just perfect!

"Of all the times…" He growled under his breath, quickly snatching up his school satchel and coat as he sprung to his feet. Making sure he had everything he had brought with him, he shot an apologetic look at the boy across from him, throwing some money down on the table to pay for his drinks.

"Sorry, but I really have to go now, not that this hasn't been an interesting conversation but still…"

With one last wave he started heading towards the door, barely hearing the last remark from the so called detective as the door swung shut behind him. Oh well, let Ryuga believe what he wanted to believe, if needs be, Ichigo could always go into a 'coma' for a few weeks anyway to throw of the police, its not like he _was_ Kira after all.

Maybe this hollow was a good thing, he thought as he ran past the shop window, it would, at least help him to blow off some steam right?

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

L watched as his suspect ran down the street, thinking deeply as he sucked on his spoon. Kurosaki Ichigo was certainly being cautious around him, even if he was acting nonchalant, but did that mean he _was _hiding something after all? Still, if he really was Kira, would he just run out of the shop even when he, who had confessed to having suspicions regarding him, had called out that leaving then would make the probability of Ichigo being Kira all the more likely? Probably not, Kira would not make such a blunder, but had he actually heard him? That was yet another factor to consider…

Then there was the matter of the mysterious text message that had made the student look so panicked. Could it really be from his father after all, or was that just another cover up? From the file he had read on Ishin, the father, it did not seem at all out of character, but that was what was worrying L. This was something that should have been easily acceptable, given the circumstances and the people involved, but his instincts had never led him wrong before.

Deciding to follow Kurosaki so as to satiate his curiosity over where the other boy disappeared to all the time, L placed some more bills onto the table and hurriedly left the café, ambling in the direction he had seen his 'friend' disappear off in. Curiously, this was not the way to the Kurosaki family home.

After a few minutes of walking in what he thought was the right direction, but with no real success of finding the boy again, he was about to turn back and find someone else to tail the suspect when he caught sight of a flash of orange just ahead of him in the crowd. On the off chance that this flash had been the strangely bright hair of the younger student, he hurried after it, following the colour round a corner and into a sealed off alleyway.

From where he was standing, L could make out the figure of someone who definitely _looked _like Kurosaki, even if he was facing the brick wall, but, before L could walk forwards and question the odd behavior of the teen, he saw Ichigo raise a hand to his chest quickly, just before his body crumpled to the floor.

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**There you go, I hope you enjoyed it. I am starting out with good intentions, and plan to update this regularly, but you know how these things end up, so we will just have to wait and see. Any way, Review… pretty please?**


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